Identification of a Vehicle Based on Gestures of a Potential Occupant of the Vehicle

1. A method, comprising: determining that a defined mobile device is within a defined range from a vehicle; in response to the determining, identifying a gesture of a pedestrian relative to the vehicle, the pedestrian having the mobile device; causing one or more devices assembled in the vehicle to provide one or more visual signals based at least on the gesture, wherein the one or more visual signals permit identifying at least one of the vehicle an entry point to the vehicle, or a condition of the vehicle, wherein the identifying comprises determining an estimate of an orientation of the face of the pedestrian relative to the vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising causing one or more second devices assembled in the vehicle to provide one or more notifications indicating that the mobile device is within the defined distance from the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 2 , the one or mode second devices comprising a display device, wherein the causing the one or more second devices to provide one or more notifications comprises causing the display device to present a message indicating that the pedestrian is within the defined distance from the vehicle.

4. The method of claim 2 , the one or more second devices comprising a speaker device, and wherein the causing the one or more second devices to provide one or more notifications further comprises causing the speaker device to emit an audible signal.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining comprises, receiving wireless signals from the defined mobile device; determining an estimate of a distance of the defined mobile device relative to the vehicle by performing triangulation using the wireless signals; and determining that the estimate of the distance is less than the defined range from the vehicle.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the orientation is directed towards a frontal portion of the vehicle, and wherein the causing comprises causing a lighting device to emit essentially monochromatic light or to emit a defined sequence of lighting periods intercalated with obscurity periods.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the orientation is directed towards a side portion of the vehicle, and wherein the causing comprises causing an electro-chromatic module to switch an optical state of a window of the vehicle to a transparent state.

8. An apparatus, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory device functionally coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one memory device having instructions encoded therein that, in response to execution, cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising, determining that a defined mobile device is within a defined range from a vehicle; in response to the determining, identifying a gesture of a pedestrian relative to the vehicle, the pedestrian having the mobile device; causing one or more devices assembled in the vehicle to provide one or more visual signals based at least on the gesture, wherein the one or more visual signals permit identifying at least one of the vehicle an entry point to the vehicle, or a condition of the vehicle, wherein the identifying comprises determining an estimate of an orientation of a gaze of the pedestrian relative to the vehicle, and wherein: (i) the orientation is directed towards a frontal portion of the vehicle, and wherein the causing comprises causing a lighting device to emit essentially monochromatic light or to emit a defined sequence of lighting periods intercalated with obscurity periods, or (ii) the orientation is directed towards a side portion of the vehicle, and wherein the causing comprises causing an electro-chromatic module to switch an optical state of a window of the vehicle to a transparent state.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the operations further comprise causing one or more second devices assembled in the vehicle to provide one or more notifications indicating that the mobile device is within the defined range from the vehicle.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the determining comprises, receiving wireless signals from the defined mobile device; determining an estimate of a distance of the defined mobile device relative to the vehicle by performing a time-of-flight process using the wireless signals; and determining that the estimate of the distance is less than the defined range from the vehicle.

11. A vehicle, comprising: multiple devices integrated into the vehicle; and a control unit functionally coupled to the multiple devices, the control unit comprising, at least one processor; and at least one memory device functionally coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one memory device having instructions encoded therein that, in response to execution, cause the control unit to perform operations comprising, determining that a defined mobile device is within a defined range from a vehicle; in response to the determining, identifying a gesture of a pedestrian relative to the vehicle, the pedestrian having the mobile device; causing at least one first device of the multiple devices to provide one or more visual signals based at least on the gesture, wherein the one or more visual signals permit identifying at least one of the vehicle an entry point to the vehicle, or a condition of the vehicle, wherein the identifying comprises determining at least one of an estimate of an orientation of the face of the pedestrian or an orientation of a gaze of the pedestrian relative to the vehicle, and wherein: (i) the multiple devices comprise a lighting device assemble proximate to a license plate of the vehicle, and wherein the orientation is directed towards a frontal portion of the vehicle, the causing comprising causing the lighting device to emit essentially monochromatic light or to emit a defined sequence of lighting periods intercalated with obscurity periods, or (ii) the multiple devices comprise an electro-chromatic module including an electro-chromatic window, and wherein the orientation is directed towards a side portion of the vehicle, the causing comprising causing the electro-chromatic module to cause the electro-chromatic window to switch to a transparent state.

12. The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise causing at least one second device of the multiple devices to provide one or more notifications indicating that the mobile device is within the defined range from the vehicle.

13. The vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the determining comprises, receiving wireless signals from the defined mobile device; determining an estimate of a distance of the defined mobile device relative to the vehicle by performing triangulation using the wireless signals; and determining that the estimate of the distance is less than the defined range from the vehicle.